Upgrade from 8800GT to ?

[brennok]

I was leaning towards grabbing a 5850, but now with the 460 out there I am wondering if I should go that way instead. I am not a heavy gamer, but my 8800gt isn't cutting it these days for me. I play a lot of FPS like BC2, MOH, and probably COD: Black OPS, but also planning to run games like Civ 5, WoW, and Lotro. I am currently gaming on a 21" CRT but plan to eventually upgrade to a 24+" LCD when it dies so I am not pushing a high resolution currently. I realize anything I get will be overkill mostly, but I don't want to have to upgrade again when this monitor dies.

Budget: $200-$300

My current rig:
I7-860
4gb of DDR3
GA-P55-UD4P
Antec True Power 750 Blue
HAF932
Win 7 64 bit ultimate

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Your best choices are the 460 and 5850. It really just depends on how much you want to spend. They're both good video cards.

 

[Termie]

Your best choices are the 460 and 5850. It really just depends on how much you want to spend. They're both good video cards.

Agreed. The 460 is about twice as fast as your 8800gt, the 5850 is about 2.2x as fast. Both will be major upgrades, although the 5850 is superior in BC2: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...force-gtx-460-1gb-gtx-460-768mb-review-8.html.

I'd say the 5850 is the better choice as long as the price is under $260. Otherwise the 460 is really the better deal.

A couple 5850 models are currently in that range (at least this weekend):
XFX for $250 with code XFXHWOW: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150494
MSI Twin Frozer for $260AR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127500

The 460s are all at $230, since it's a new product.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I just upgraded from a 8800GT to a 470. I got the 470 for $234 but can still be found for $270-280.

 

[brennok]

Thanks guys. On the 5850 linked I thought I had read the egg cooler were the ones to avoid. I can't find where the thread was now or what board, but it may have been based more on overclocking the board which I don't plan to do. It sounds also like the latest ATI drivers are still having some problems.

If I go with the 460 is it worth going with the 1GB version over the 768MB at my lower resolutions? It looks like only a $30 price difference or so.

 

[Termie]

Thanks guys. On the 5850 linked I thought I had read the egg cooler were the ones to avoid. I can't find where the thread was now or what board, but it may have been based more on overclocking the board which I don't plan to do. It sounds also like the latest ATI drivers are still having some problems.

If I go with the 460 is it worth going with the 1GB version over the 768MB at my lower resolutions? It looks like only a $30 price difference or so.

The "egg" cooler doesn't look that cool, but honestly, it should work fine. Anandtech showed that the egg cooler on the 5770 was in fact superior on noise and temps to the shrouded cooler. The same probably will apply to the 5850. Unless a card actually uses a blower-style fan, like the original 5850/5870, a shroud really isn't of much value, because air isn't going to be directed in any particular direction anyway, such as out of the case.

If you're going to get the 460, most people will recommend the 1GB version unless you're really strapped for cash. The tweaks to the memory help at higher resolutions, but the card also has more processing power to throw at any resolution.

 

[netxzero64]

well it depends on your budget on how much you are willing to spend... if you got $300, the best bet would be the GTX 470 and the 5850...

http://www.techspot.com/review/283-geforce-gtx-400-vs-radeon-hd-5800/

 

[Chriscross3234]

I upgraded from an 8800 GT to a GTX 460 1GB and I'm very happy with my decision

 

[FalseChristian]

I'm currently running a 8800GT and I can wait to upgrade to 2 GTX 460 1024MB as soon as I have the dough.